Loom harness



Nov. 6, 1956 F. H. KAUFMANN LOOM HARNESS Filed July 28, 1955 A INVENTOR 3] fl; 20 Finn/ A4 Kia/mm,

. BY v -42ml' Z t v Z/ @WATTORNEY 2,769,461 LOOM HARNESS Frank H. Kaufmann, Huntingdon Valley, Pa., assignor to Steel Heddle Manufacturing Company, Philadelphia, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Appiication July 28, 1955, Serial No. 524,953 Claims. (Cl. 139-82) This invention relates to loom harness, and it relates more particularly to the provision, in loom harness of the general type shown and described in Letters Patent of John J. Kaufmann, No. 2,386,690, dated October 9, 1945, of means whereby Wear at the place of connection between certain of the parts will be eliminated, or at least reduced to a minimum.

Loom harness of the aforesaid type is particularly useful in those installations in which the warp is inserted by means of the automatic warp drawing-in machines which are now in common use.

When warp drawing-in machines are used for automatically entering the warp, it is essential that the heddles be permitted entire freedom of movement from end to end upon the supporting rods, without being obstructed in any way by the devices which are commonly called hooks and which are used in loom harness frames for the purpose of supporting the heddle rods intermediate their ends.

Loom harness frames of the type shown and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent have proved reasonably satisfactory in use, but it has been found that an undue amount of wear occurs at certain places which often renders it necessary to replace certain of the parts while the loom harness is otherwise in satisfactory working condition.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide, in loom harness frames of the character aforesaid, improved means for supporting the heddle bars intermediate their ends which, while retaining all of the advantages heretofore obtained through the use of the arrangement shown and described in the aforesaid Letters Patent, yet will provide an arrangement whereby wear between certain of the parts thereof will be eliminated, or at least minimized.

A further object of the invention is to provide means of the character aforesaid, which will be automatic in its action, but which will entail practically no additional expense in its construction.

The nature and characteristic features of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following description, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing forming part hereof, in which:

Figure l is a front elevation of a loom harness frame of a weil known type provided with devices embodying the main features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view, taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary detail of certain of the parts in operative relationship;

Fig. 4 is a top plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an elevational view of the principal novel part of the present invention, the same being shown in its at blanked out form prior to final shaping.

It should, of course, be understood that the description and drawing herein are illustrative merely, and that various modilications and changes may be made in the structure disclosed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Referring to the drawing, the harness frame proper may be of any preferred construction. As shown in the drawing, the same may include top and bottom rails 10,

nited States Patent Y 2,769,461 Patented Nov. 6, 1956 2 connected at their ends by end struts 11. The heddle supporting rods 12 in this instance are made of strips of flat metal extending from end to end of the frame, and each of said rods 12 may have its end portions extending through slots 13 in the end struts 11 in the usual manner for the supporting and securing of the ends.

Each of the end portions of each of the heddle rods 12 may be provided with an aperture 14 whereby the ends of the heddle rod may be engaged by suitably shaped spring members 15 secured by rivets 16 to the end struts 11 of the frame. The arrangement may be of either of the forms shown and described in Letters Patent No. 2,560,512, dated January 10, 1951. However, any other desired means may be used for securing the ends of the heddle rods in the frame, so long as the same will serve to prevent undue longitudinal movement of the heddle rods in the frame.

In the preferred form of the device for supporting the heddle rods 12 intermediate their ends, said heddle rods are provided, at each of the places Where a support is desired, with a plate member 2t), which is secured to the heddle rod 12 by means of rivets 21.

A spacing member 22, through which said rivets 21 extend, is interposed between the heddle rods 12 and the plate member 2d, to permit the heddles 50 to pass the supporting devices.

Each plate member 20 has a body portion which extends from the place where the spacing member 22 is located toward the rail 10 of the frame, and each of said plate members is provided in said body portion with a generally U-shaped slot 23, the provision and arrangement of which results in the principal novel feature of the present invention.

Said slot 23 is provided in the part thereof which is nearest one of the longitudinal edges of the body portion of the plate member 20 with a relatively wide portion 24 and a relatively narrow portion 25, and a portion 26 parallel to the portions 2.- and 25, thereby providing a spring tongue member 27, for a purpose and manner of functioning to be presently described.

The plate member 2i) is also provided with a spaced tongue portion 23 which extends from one of the ends, being bent around and located so as to extend parallel to the main or body portion of the plate member 20, as shown and described in Patent No. 2,3 86,690.

The device of the present invention is adapted for use in connection with loom harness structures of the character shown in said Letters Patent No. 2,386,690, and particularly in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 of said patent. Hence there is provided, as in that structure, a bolt member 30, which has at its innermost end a attened head portion 31 which extends between the body of the plate member 20 and the tongue portion 2S thereof, and said attened head portion 31 of the bolt 30 has its end bent at right angles to provide a lip portion 32 which extends within and in the operative position is seated in the narrow portion 25 of the slot 23 of the plate member 20.

in this construction, the tongue portion 28 serves to prevent the attened head of the bolt 26 from separating from the plate member 2i?, and also serves to maintain the lip portion 32. from becoming disengaged from the portion 25 of the slot 23 in the plate member 2d. In this novel arrangement of the various parts, when the same are in their operative positions, the enlarged portion 24 of the slot 23 is provided to facilitate the initial insertion of the lip 32 into said enlarged portion 24, after which said lip 32 is brought to the proper normal position within the narrow portion 25 of the slot 23 by the longitudinal shifting of the heddle rod 12 in the frame in the usual manner.

As shown in the drawing, the shank portion 34 of the bolt 30 extends through the rail lii of the frame and is ICC Ythe lip portion 32 of the lread ofthe bolt 3 Y and maintains a constant pressure thereon when the are in their operative positions. k

2. In loom'harness including a heddle frame having` topf andbottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin at metallic strips mounted in said frame,

provided at its outer end withra threaded portion 35 which is engaged by a complementally threaded sleeve 36. The sleeve`36 is provided with a flange 37, and said i'lange is disposed between a plate 33 seated in a recess of the rail 1G, and an outer plate member 39. Said plate members may be provided with a transverse screw driver slot'42 for Vthetmanipulation of the sleeve 3e to adjust the bolt 3% in the rail l0. The operation of the device of the present invention should now be readily understood. When it is desired .to insert a heddleV rod l2 in the Yframe with the heddles mounted thereon, the ends of said Vrod are of course disconnected from the frame. The Vrod is then brought to such position that, at each'hook location, the lip portion ESZVof the attened head 3l of the bolt 3'may be inserted in the enlarged portion Z4 of the slot 23 in Y the body portion of the plate member 2d, whereupon' by the shifting of the heddle rod longitudinally, the lattened head portion 3l of each bolt member 3d will be brought Y between the tongue 23 and the body portion of the plate Y member 20, and the lip portion 32 .will pass into .the

narrow portion 25 ofthe slot 23, and by reason of the shapeof the slot at this point the end of the spring tongue 27 willV thereafter exert Ya constant resilient pressure upon t. By'reason of the pressure thus exerted againsttthe lip portion 32 of the head of the'bolt 3%, the hammering VwhichV customarily happens at this point, and which results in destructive wear, will be largely eliminated, or at least minimized to a point where it will no longer result in damaging action.

When the heddle rodlZ has been brought to the proper t longitudinal position, the apertured ends of saidheddle Vrod may be engaged by the spring members 15, whereupon said rods will then be maintained against undesired Y longitudinal movement in the frame.

,I claim: Y Y 1. In loom harness including a heddle frame having ,top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods comprising thin at metallic strips mounted in said frame, said 4. Y maintaining said Vmembers in locked engagement, fthe'V U-shape of the slot providing a spring tongue having a portion resiliently engaging the part which extends into the'slot and which maintains a constant pressure thereon when the parts are kin their 'operativeA positions, and the slot Vhaving anl enlarged portion Vto facilitatethe initial insertion of the part which extends into said slot. fr 3.'In loom harness including a heddle frame-having top and bottom rails and vheddle supporting rods comprising thin fiat metallic strips mounted in said frame, said rods being insertable therein and removable there-Y from byV sliding lengthwise, the'means for supporting said rodsrintermediate the ends thereof comprising the pro- Y vision, at each location, of a plate member secured to the rod in spaced relationship, and a Vseparate bolt member adjustably mounted in `one of the rails of the frames, said t plate member having a substantially KJV-shaped slotV therein and the bolt member having a head portiongwith a part extending into said slot to secure said members to'each other, said members being separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise, and means for normally maintaining said Y members in lockedengagement, the U-shape ofthe slot providing a spring tongue Yin the plate member having a portion resiliently yengaging the part of the head portion of the bolt which extends into the slotand which main'- tains a constant pressure thereon when the parts are in e their operative positions.

4. In loom harness VvincludingV a heddle frame Yhaving top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rodsV comprising thin flat metallic strips mounted in said frame, said rods being insertable therein and removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, the means for supporting Y said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprisingthe provision at each location, of a plateV member secured to the rod in spaced relationship and a separate bolt member adjustably mounted in one of the rails of the'frame, said plate"member'having a substantially U-shaped Vslot therein,and the bolt member having a head portionwith apartextending intoV said slot to secure said members to each other, saidV members ,being separable upon sliding the 'rod lengthwise,V and means for normallymaintaining'r said members in locked engagement, `the U-srhapeV of the Y rods being insertable therein and removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, the means for supporting said rods intermediate'the ends thereof comprising the provision, at eachrlocation, of a member securedV tothe rod, and a separate bolt member adiustably lmounted in one of the Vrails of the frame; one of said members having a substantially Ushaped slot therein and the other of saidmembersV having a partV extending into said slot to secure said mem-V bers toV each other, said membersbeing separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise, and means for normallyY maintaining said members in locked engagement, the U-shape of the'slot providing a spring tongue having a portion resiliently engaging the part which'extends into the slot parts said rods beingYY insertabl'erthereinand removable therefroml by sliding lengthwise, the means for'supporting said t rods intermediate the ends thereof comprising the provi'-Y Ysion, at each location, Yof a member secured to the rod,

and a separate bolt member adjustably mounted Vin one `said members to each other, said members being separable Yupon Vsliding the rodlengthwise, and means for'normallyl ber adjustably mounted in one of the rails ofk theframe,

slot providing a'spring tongue in the plate memberY having a portion resiliently engaging the part of the head portion of the bolt which extends into'the slot and which maintains a constant pressure Ythereon when theY parts are in their operativetpositions, andthe slot having anY f ,enlarged portionY to facilitate the initial insertion of theV part which extends therein.

5. In loom harness Vincluding a heddle frame Vhaving t top and bottom rails and heddle supporting rods'compris-V ing thin flat metallic strips mounted in' said frame, said rods being insertable *thereinV and removable therefrom by sliding lengthwise, fthe means for supporting said rods intermediate the ends thereof comprisingthe provision at each location, of a plate member securedtoVV t therod in spacedV relationship, and a separate vbolt'memsaid plate'member having a substantially YU-shaped slotk therein and the .bolt member having Va head portionY with VVa lip extending into said vslot to secure said membersto 'Y each other, said membersrbeing separable upon sliding the rod lengthwise, and means for normally *maintainingY said members in llocked engagement, the U-shape ofthe fr slot -providing a spring tongue inthe plate-memberhav ing a portion resiliently engaging the lip ofthehead portiorrof the bolt which extends into theslot andY which Y maintains a constant pressure on said lip when Ythe parts Y t are in their operative positions.

References Cited in the le of this *patientY UNITEDVV STATESV PATENTS V2,560,512 i 2,601,873 V'Kaufman'ia La July l, 1952 

